Little Girl with Long Hair
by ParchmentandQuill8
Summary: After Emma disappeared, Killian thought he had lost everything. However, a new face arrives in Storybrooke, this one a little smaller than usual, although her hair more than makes up for it. They both find that they need a little help adjusting to changes in their lives. (I thought I could get better at these. I was wrong. Sorry) Rated T because I'm an irrational little child.
1. Chapter 1

**Why hello my little humans! Wow. That was creepier than I intended. Oh well. I'm not changing it.**

 **I'm already off to a bit of a rocky start. Let's see if I can fix this.**

 **Hello! I am parchmentandquill7. This is not my first fanfiction, although it is my first OUAT fanfiction. I feel like this particular story deserves an explanation. I really, really, really love Rapunzel. Even before I saw Tangled, Rapunzel was my favorite princess ever, mostly because of how badass she is. Tangled did nothing but enhance that. You could understand how freaking excited I would be when I found out that Rapunzel would be making an appearance on OUAT. When I finally watched the episode, I was really disappointed. I don't want to start a whole thing where this turns into a huge rant (because you guys don't really read this things anyway) but all I'll say is: for a really modern (word choice?) show, she really was only there to further David's character development. Oh well, I guess. Anyway, I thought I'd fix it. This story starts on s5e1. I'll let you figure out the rest.**

 **Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time is a by product of A &E and ABC. All characters taken from the show are a trademark of ABC and god only knows how many other companies. Any and all original characters portrayed in this fanfic are not to be copied without express permission from the author, under penalty of a stern talkin' to.**

* * *

No matter how it starts, a day in Storybrooke, Maine is never normal. The day Sam arrived was as normal as it could get. The only thing of any real significance was that it marked the seventh day without even a glimpse of the Dark One.

The day Sam arrived started as it always did. Granny rose early to make breakfast, and the smell of coffee grounds and bacon sizzling on the pan in rows eventually woke everybody staying in Granny's Inn, including Killian Jones.

Killian had been living on the Jolly Roger, his prized ship, but to be closer to the people he loved, he had abandoned it. Now he lived in Granny's Inn, and every morning he drank his coffee and watched the same people come and go.

That morning, someone new would step through the doorway.

That day, Sam wasn't Sam yet. That day, she was still Rapunzel. She was eight years old and that morning, at almost exactly the same time Killian woke up, her grandmother died.

Rapunzel's grandmother was not a good person. She had kept her granddaughter out of the outside world for half of Rapunzel's life, and all because she was special. It's quite ironic how us humans tell people that being special and unique and different is a good thing, but as soon as we find someone who's a little bit too different, we run. People are quite funny things…

But I must digress because this story is about Sam - or Rapunzel, I should say. I'm getting ahead of myself.

I may be speaking too kindly of Rapunzel's grandmother when I say that she had been "keeping Rapunzel out of the outside world". What she was really doing was imprisoning her; holding her captive; detaining her. When she died, Rapunzel didn't just stop being imprisoned; it doesn't quite work like that. However, Rapunzel is a very strong little girl. That's important. Write that down. Rapunzel is a very, very strong girl.

Rapunzel escaped in under forty minutes. Impressive timing, considering the elaborate web her grandmother had created to keep her from escaping. Rapunzel does have the long hair that she is famous for, and her grandmother had wrapped and tangled and knotted it around the rafters of the old, decrepit garden shed she kept Rapunzel in.

I must say, it's actually quite ingenious, because if she tried to pull herself free, it would hurt. Because, you know, it's her hair.

However, once the actual threat of her Grandmother had left her, Rapunzel was free to figure it out.

Once her dirty, matted blonde hair was released and free, Rapunzel decided to go look for help.

So, barefoot and wearing the same faded blue dress she'd had since she turned five, Rapunzel pushed a rotting board away from the wall of the shed and placed a foot on the ground.

* * *

As Rapunzel carefully walked along an overgrown path towards what she thought would be her kingdom, Corona, Killian was just sitting down on a barstool with a cup of coffee. He glanced at the clock and counted down the seconds until the usual second person - a very small, very blonde woman with the highest voice Killian had ever heard - would enter the diner. Killian liked to imagine she would have been one of Cinderella's birds in the Enchanted Forest.

At exactly 7:39, the blonde woman entered Granny's Diner.

Killian sat and watched as the same people came and left the diner. At 8:04, the Charmings came in for breakfast and as they headed for their usual booth in the window, David Nolan gave Killian a sympathetic nod. At 8:10, Regina and Henry Mills joined the Charmings. Killian watched as David and Mary Margaret Blanchard glanced out the window over and over again.

He knew who they watching for.

Just as Killian swallowed the last drops of coffee, the door opened, followed by the bell jangling. It took Killian a second to realize that nobody came into the diner at 8:24. He looked up and saw Leroy, one of the seven dwarves, standing in the doorway. Killian sighed. He'd been hoping for a normal day.

"Check out blondie's hair," Leroy exclaimed, pointing out of a tall window. Everyone in the diner looked in Leroy's direction and the Charmings, Regina, and Henry even stood up to get a look. Killian stood up and slowly walked towards the window Leroy was looking out of.

Killian saw a little girl - even younger than Henry. She was wearing a stained grey dress that revealed her ankles and feet. Her hair was dirty and bushy and so long that the ends brushed the ground as she walked. She walked along the buildings, sticking as close to the walls as she could and nervously glancing in every direction. A cold blast of sea air hit her and she stopped in her tracks as if she had walked into a wall. Mary Margaret ran out the door, followed by David as Granny directed everyone's attention back to a fresh batch of bacon and eggs.

Killian watched Mary Margaret and David approach the little girl. She backed away from them, holding her hair protectively against her. She tried to run away, but got tangled up in a remaining curl, stumbled, and fell to her knees. She rotated around and sat with her knees bent in front of her. She looked up at the two adults with wide eyes.

Knowing now to keep their distance, Mary Margaret and David attempted conversation with the little girl. Killian saw David point towards the diner, and when her gaze followed his gesture, the girl almost made eye contact with him. Mary Margaret reached out a hand to the girl, but she did not accept it. The three began to walk back to Granny's Diner, with David and Mary Margaret in front, and the little girl with long hair several paces behind.

* * *

It was soon established that the little girl with the long hair was called Rapunzel, although Killian was surprised that this hadn't already been assumed. Soon after this revelation, Regina had sent Rapunzel off with Henry to get some clean clothes. Killian listened to the discussion of what to do with Rapunzel from across the diner.

"I really don't see what the big deal is," David was saying. "People come into Storybrooke all the time and they figure out what to do with themselves."

"Well, none of those people were eight years old, David," Regina replied. She almost sounded angry. "and you can't leave an eight year old to 'figure out what to do with herself'."

"Then why doesn't she stay with you, Regina." Mary Margaret asked, "I'd imagine you'd have the room for her in that house of yours."

"I would if it weren't for Zelena. If she were to escape and somehow get that bracelet off, I can't imagine what she'd do. I do know that it would involve me and also the people around me. It wouldn't be safe. That's why Henry is with you."

"Well there's no room in the loft." David replied.

"What about here," Mary Margaret suggested, "At Granny's Inn? Then we're right down the street and Killian could be right across the hall."

At the sound of his name, Killian slowly went over to the group in the booth next to the window.

"What exactly is it you want me to do?" he asked. His voice was scratchy, as if he hadn't used it in a while.

"Just watch over her, "Regina replied, knowing that Killian had heard the entire conversation. "Make sure that she's okay."

"Why are you so concerned about this Rapunzel girl when Emma is out there somewhere? No one is even trying to look for her anymore. You've just given up."

"Killian," David sighed, "We've been over this. She clearly doesn't want to be found. It's just like what she did last year. She was vulnerable and scared then when she was trying to figure out her normal light magic and she's the same now. She dealing with a whole new set of problems _and_ being the Dark One can't be easy."

"And we haven't given up." Mary Margaret added, "Belle is in the library right now researching past Dark Ones to figure out where Emma may have gone."

Killian said nothing, but looked his disapproval.

"Will you do it or not?" Regina snapped.

Killian looked on.

"I'm taking that as a yes, then." David replied, turning back towards the women. "What we still have to figure out is why she's here. She's alone; no one is looking for her; she doesn't recognize anyone or anything."

"Do you think she came over in the last curse?" Mary Margaret asked.

"If she did, she's been on her own for a really long time." David replied.

"Are you sure that nothing unusual appeared?" Regina asked, crossing her arms and sinking further back into her seat.

"I can't say I knew some parts of those forests as well as others, but I certainly haven't seen her anywhere."

"Let's hope Henry gets something out of her." Regina replied.

* * *

Unfortunately, Henry hadn't had much luck getting her to talk. While her fate was being discussed, Rapunzel stood stiffly in Henry's bedroom as he rummaged through his closet. Occasionally, he tossed a piece of clothing onto his bed. Finally he held out a pair of jeans, a red and navy flannel shirt, a green army jacket and black high tops.

"You're lucky I never clean out my closet." Henry smiled, "These have been in here since I was your age."

Rapunzel gave Henry a questioning glance.

"These are clothes." Henry explained. "You wear them."

He directed Rapunzel towards the bathroom and waited patiently for her to return. Eventually, she pulled open the door and stepped outside, wearing the clothes Henry had given her.

"You look awesome." Henry said. Again, Rapunzel looked her confusion. "It means you look good." Henry explained.

Rapunzel nodded.

"We have to go back to the diner now."

Rapunzel stiffened.

"No, it's okay. They're going to help you get home."

"NO!" Rapunzel shouted, speaking for the first time. "I don't want to go back."

"Why?" Henry asked, unfazed by Rapunzel's decision to start talking, "Why don't you want to go home?"

"Because I don't have a home to go to!"

Rapunzel ran outside, letting her hair trail behind her. Henry sighed and slowly followed her.

* * *

Rapunzel and Henry arrived at Granny's diner at the same time.

"Great," Regina said, upon seeing the children enter the building. "You're back. Rapunzel, we've decided that you'll be staying here, at Granny's Inn. This is Killian. He'll be watching you."

Regina held out her hand and a stony-faced Killian stepped forward. Rapunzel looked up at him. She waited for him to start talking to her like the others had, but he never did.

There were a few moments of intense stillness as Killian and Rapunzel stared at each other. Finally, Rapunzel smiled. She smiled for the first time since she had arrived in Storybrooke. It was small - barely noticeable, but it was there. Killian's expression even softened a little bit at the sign of it. A bell jangled, breaking the silence, and Belle French hurried into the diner.

"You'd better come to the library." She said breathlessly. "I think I know where Emma is."

Killian moved faster than he had in a while and the other adults followed him and Belle out of the diner and into the street. Rapunzel glanced at Henry, hoping for answers but not wanting to ask for them. Henry understood.

"Emma is my mom," Henry began as they slowly followed the adults' path out of the diner, "and she got turned into the Dark One and then she disappeared. We don't know where she went and we're trying to figure it out. Belle - the person who just ran into the diner - she's been researching past Dark Ones so we could have some idea of where she could be. I think she might have figured it out."

By now, they had entered the library. Rapunzel stopped in her tracks, awed by the amount of books around her.

"Do you like books, Rapunzel?" Belle asked.

Rapunzel shrunk back, the glimmer that had appeared in her eyes faded away as quick as it came.

"Do you know her?" Henry asked, surprised by the use of Rapunzel's name.

"No, but not many people have hair like that. I felt safe making the assumption. Well, I should go help figure out where your mother went, Henry. Feel free to look around, Rapunzel."

As Belle walked towards the big table covered in old leather-bound books and faded maps, Rapunzel walked towards a row of shelves. She dragged her fingers along the spines of the lined up books.

"So you like books?" Henry asked, repeating Belle's question.

Rapunzel nodded.

"Here." Henry gestured for her to follow him. "I'll show you some books I like."

* * *

"You think Emma is in Camelot?" Killian asked, seeming more alive than he had since Emma had disappeared. He and the others had just pored over the documents Belle had found, all pointing to one place. Camelot.

"Merlin's tree is there." Belle explained, looking around at the papers surrounding her, "The first Dark One was created there. Historically, it's a home for Dark Ones. If she's doing what I think she's doing and trying to find Merlin so he can release her from the darkness, Camelot's where to go. If she's anywhere, she'll be there."

"Let's go then!" David said.

"That's the problem," Belle said, frowning, "Right now, we can't. There are no more magic beans, we can't make a curse, and there aren't any secret doors leading to Camelot anywhere in Storybrooke like the one going to Arendelle."

"Then what was the point of all this?" Killian asked angrily. "Why did we do this if we aren't going to be any closer to actually _finding_ Emma?"

"Because it's a start." David answered, attempting to reassure Killian. "We know where she is. We'll figure out how to get there next. We are going to save Emma, Killian. We just need you to be patient."

Unfortunately for David, Killian is not a patient man. He already had a plan in mind. However, Regina began to speak before Killian could act upon it.

"Killian, why don't you bring Rapunzel back to Granny's Inn. Let can get settled in." Then, as a second thought, she added, "And bring Henry with you. He can keep her company. We'll meet in my office in an hour to talk more about getting to Camelot."

Without a response, Killian stalked down the aisles, searching for the little girl.

He eventually found Rapunzel and Henry sitting on plush beanbag chairs surrounded by small stacks of books.

"Let's go, Rapunzel." Killian said tersely, gesturing towards the exit, "We're going back to Granny's Inn. Henry, you're coming with us."

He turned and walked towards the door, stopping just before it and waiting for them. Henry stood up and Rapunzel slowly followed him.

"You can take some books with you if you want." Henry suggested, taking a slightly kinder approach than Killian had. "Belle won't mind."

Henry helped Rapunzel pick out a few books - and grabbed one for himself - before Killian coughed emphatically and they headed towards the door towards where he was standing.

The three walked back across the street and entered Granny's Diner. Upon seeing them, Granny nodded understandingly and handed Killian a room key. Upon seeing that the number and realizing that Rapunzel's room was indeed right across from his, he sighed. He'd been hoping that some unfortunate oversight would have separated him from the child by a few more doors, or maybe a floor or two.

"Henry, I need you to wait down here. I'll be down in a few minutes." Killian ordered.

"Okay." Henry shrugged, sitting on a barstool and opening his book.

Killian led Rapunzel into the inn and up several flights of stairs into a narrow hallway. He found her room, inserted the key into the lock and pushed open the door. Inside, Rapunzel saw a tall wardrobe, a small leather couch, a desk, a wooden chair, and most importantly, a bed. It was big, with a thick mattress and fluffy pillows and a heavy patchwork quilt resting on top. Rapunzel stood in wonderment at the luxury being handed to her.

"I take it you like the room." Killian said, amused by the little girl.

Rapunzel nodded. Killian nudged her through the doorway.

"Thank you." Rapunzel whispered.

Killian raised his eyebrows. He'd yet to hear her speak. Her voice was much softer than he had imagined.

"No need to thank me." Killian replied. "It's what we do here. We help people who need it. Get settled in then. I have some business to attend to. I'll, er, check on you in a bit."

As Killian left, he saw Rapunzel carefully put her books on her new bed before he shut the door. He caught himself chuckling at the little girl's behavior before he remembered what he had to do and hurried back into the diner. He saw Henry where he left him: sitting on a barstool reading a book. He strode across the room and began to speak to him.

"Henry," Killian started, "you can fix this. You're the author now. Use that pen to write the darkness out of Emma, bring her back."

"I broke it." Henry replied guiltily. After a long moment of silence, Killian finally replied.

"You what?" He looked like a parent scolding his child.

"It's too much power," Henry argued, trying to justify his decision. Killian rubbed his temple with his hand. "That's how the last author got in trouble. He stopped recording his story and used magic to change it. My mom wouldn't want me to. She'd want me to be good."

"Oh." Killian replied. Quickly thinking of a second plan. "So you won't break _any_ rules then." Henry raised his eyebrows. He wasn't ready to agree to that statement yet. Killian saw this hesitation as a way to continue. "What if there's a way - a dangerous way - to help your mother. Something your other mother wouldn't like."

"I don't need her permission. I'm not a kid anymore."

"Good. Because our best bet is the person Regina hates most."

"Zelena."

"That's right. We're going to break out the Wicked Witch." Killian smiled gleefully.

* * *

After Killian left her room, Rapunzel quickly began exploring her new home. Her books moved from the bed, to the desk, and back to the bed before finally coming to rest on a small table beside the bed.

She opened the creaky doors of the tall wardrobe and saw several wire hangers, a stack of small shelves along one side, and on a shelf at the bottom, a red plaid blanket. Rapunzel draped this over her couch and then stepped back to admire her handiwork.

Next to the wardrobe was another door like the one that lead into the hallway. This one opened to a small bathroom. There were clean towels and small bottles of shampoo and other toiletries perched on the edge of the bathtub. Rapunzel fiddled curiously with the faucets on the sink and shower and the flushing capabilities of the toilet, wondering what magic made them work. As soon as she thought of magic, she snapped up, looking at herself in the mirror. During the hustle and bustle of the day, she'd never even thought of her most important thing.

Her heart racing a mile a minute, Rapunzel squeezed her eyes shut. Soon, her hair began to shimmer like a rainbow caught in a wave. Rapunzel opened her eyes to see her hair floating around her. She sighed, realizing that she had been holding her breath.

* * *

As Rapunzel was looking around her room, Killian and Henry were down in the psychiatric ward of the hospital carrying out their plan. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful, and Zelena now roamed Storybrooke with the full use of her magic.

"You have to tell my mom," Henry was saying.

"I know." Killian replied.

"If you don't, people could get hurt."

"I know." Killian repeated loudly.

"Then where exactly are we going? Aren't we supposed to be going to my mom's office?" Henry asked, seeing that they were walking away from the town hall.

"We're getting Rapunzel."

"Aw. You care about her. That's nice."

"I don't care." Killian protested, "I just don't want it to be my fault if Zelena gets to her."

"I don't think Zelena knows that Rapunzel exists."

"I don't put anything past that woman."

* * *

Rapunzel was sitting on her new couch reading one of her new books when she heard a knock on the door. She carefully placed the book onto a couch cushion before crossing the room. Rapunzel opened the door to find Killian and Henry standing in the hallway.

"Hello." Henry smiled, "There's a witch on the loose and we're going to catch her. Killian wants you to come to keep you safe."

Rapunzel's eyes widened.

"Don't get yourself too excited, love." Killian cut in, "Most days in this town are this eventful."

"Okay." Rapunzel nodded slowly and followed him and Henry out of the room.

* * *

"You let her out?" Regina said, appalled. Rapunzel, Killian, and Henry had made it to the town hall. Rapunzel and Henry stood next to Killian, across from Regina, Mary Margaret, David, and Belle, all of whom looked very upset.

"Technically, I let her escape." Killian corrected.

"Moron."

"Watch it, Your Majesty. At least I'm doing something to save Emma."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, maybe you like being with Henry alone. Maybe you like not having Emma around." There were several eye-rolls, and Henry glanced towards his mother. He would have never accused her of committing such a crime.

"Maybe you having a hook? Maybe you'd like another?" Regina replied.

Rapunzel looked at the hook curiously. She wondered why he had it.

"Enough!" Mary Margaret cut in, not wanting to listen to the goading anymore. "Zelena's out, that is what matters, but not as much as Emma. Emma kept us united, and that is exactly how we are going to remain. Come hell or high water, we are going to put our nonsense aside, and find my daughter. Ok? Ok. Where would Zelena go first?"

"I know exactly where. Or more accurately, who she's after."

"Robin." David finished her sentence.

"We'll go find Robin." Regina directed, "Killian, bring Rapunzel back to Granny's and then meet us there."

"Why?" Killian asked.

"I don't want her seeing what my sister is capable of. Little girls shouldn't know evils like that."

Killian nodded and directed Rapunzel out of Regina's office.

"What does she mean 'evils'?" Rapunzel asked loudly as Killian dragged her as fast as he could without running out of the town hall. "Who's her sister?"

"She is someone I don't want you to ever meet."

"Why?"

"Because she's a bad person."

"Everyone I knew before I came here was a bad person."

"Not as bad as her."

"My grandmother kidnapped me when I was three."

Killian stopped in his tracks. Rapunzel was jolted forwards by his abrupt halt.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Yup." Rapunzel nodded, proud of herself for bringing about this reaction.

"Your grandmother kidnapped you?" Killian asked slowly, attempting to make wrap his head around her words.

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Eight."

"Your grandmother had you for five years?" Killian asked, slightly in awe of this little girl. "How - how did you get away?"

"She died."

"She died?"

"Well you can't live forever, can you?"

"Aye, well, tell that to Neverland."

"What?" Rapunzel was now the confused one.

By now, she and Killian had reached Granny's. Killian ushered her inside and up into her room.

"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that you stay safe."

"Is she really that bad?" Rapunzel began feel the same butterflies she felt when she first came to this town.

"It doesn't matter." Killian repeated, bending down to her level and gripping her shoulders. "I will make sure that no more bad people go near you again, okay?"

Rapunzel said nothing, but barreled into Killian's already outstretched arms. Killian froze for a moment, unsure of what to do, before relaxing and wrapped his arms around Rapunzel's tiny body.

"I'll be back to get you. You have to stay inside."

"You promise you'll be back?" Rapunzel whispered into Killian's shoulder.

"I promise."

* * *

Killian met the others outside of Mary Margaret and David's loft, and as soon as they worked out what had been done, they walked down the road to where Zelena stood. Killian watched Zelena threaten Robins life. He watched Regina hand over the wand to save it. He watched Zelena use the wand to create a twister. Killian watched Zelena create his ticket to save Emma.

Back in Granny's diner, Rapunzel was only a few steps away but she was far out of Killian's mind. It wasn't until he felt the diner being ripped out of the earth when he thought of the little girl who had just hugged him so tightly.

"Rapunzel." He whispered as they whirled into nothingness.

* * *

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed this. Please R and R because I love your advice and comments. I don't know when the next chapter will come in because this one took me about three weeks to write/edit.**

 **I also want to let all newcomers aware of my profile page, which is home to links to pictures of all my original characters (as I am the writer who has to find another human being that looks like my characters so I have something to picture. Tell me I'm not alone). There is a link for Rapunzel. Wink-wink.**

 **Also, I hope you all have a fantastic new year!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Aloha Oncers! I'm back yet again! This chapter is going to be all of the six weeks that everybody (minus Rapunzel) was in Camelot. I was debating doing a) a chapter for each Camelot part of episodes or b) cutting it out entirely because Rapunzel isn't there and this is about Rapunzel. I decided to compromise and include just the important/necessary parts for the plot later in one big chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: d n't wn n . Can I buy a vowel?**

* * *

Rapunzel did what Killian told her. She stayed inside, but she still saw everything. She saw the tornado approaching her new home. She felt the earth rattle and shake. She heard the diner being ripped out of the ground. She watched it get sucked into the twister and disappear.

Then, she waited. She waited at her window. She watched the sunset that day, and the sunrise the next morning. Rapunzel knew Killian would come back because he said so. He promised he'd come back, so he would.

But as Rapunzel felt her stomach rumbling as the sun burned the cloudless skies, she gave up. She tiptoed down the stairs and found a gaping hole in the wall where the door to the diner once stood. She'd watched the diner fly away in the green tornado, but she had pretended she hadn't. She had pretended that the few people she knew in this new world hadn't disappeared in a twister, but now, seeing this hole in the wall where a door should have been, she knew. Now, seeing that the diner was gone and all that was left to prove that it had been there at all was the remains of a stone foundation, she knew she couldn't pretend anymore. Then, Rapunzel felt a feeling of dread she'd never experienced before. Not even after her parents died or after her grandmother died had she felt something like that because those people didn't care about her. The new people in Storybrooke - Henry and Killian and Regina and Mary Margaret and David - they did care. They had helped her like nobody had before. Killian promised that he would come back for her.

Nobody had promised her anything before.

But that had flown away with the diner and now Rapunzel was alone again.

* * *

Killian hadn't stopped thinking about Rapunzel since they'd landed in Camelot. Even while they helped Emma and Merida and while they crossed the bridge into the Camelot Castle, Rapunzel was still on his mind.

As he and the others that came from Storybrooke were introduced to Guinevere and told about the ball, he knew that they were not thinking about the task at hand.

"We don't have time to waste on a bloody dance." He said impatiently.

"I'm not going to go dark in one night." Emma reassured him.

"I'm not willing to take that chance." He quickly debated telling Emma about Rapunzel, but decided against it. He turned to Arthur and began to ask about finding Merlin. He wanted to save Emma and get home as quick as possible.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Killian switched between being worried for Emma and being worried for Rapunzel. One day, Regina came up to him as he wallowed in annoyance and frustration on a barstool at the diner.

"What's wrong with you." she asked, "You've seemed off ever since we got here. I'd have thought you'd be happy that we're making progress. We're saving Emma."

"Yes and that's all very well and good, but nobody here has given a second thought about Rapunzel." He watched the door that should have led to the lobby of the inn, but instead opened to the forests of Camelot.

Regina sighed and slumped into a barstool next to Killian. "I completely forgot."

"Of course you did. And now we've left a little girl alone in another world. We don't know how we're going to back! We may not ever get back, and she'll be completely alone! And it's your fault!"

"My fault!"

"Yes, yours. If you hadn't made me bring her back-"

"Hey, I wanted to make sure she was safe from Zelena!" Regina argued, interrupting Killian mid-sentence.

"Safe? That woman didn't do anything other than create our passage here! Wasn't that your plan? Didn't you know that Zelena wouldn't be strong enough to actually do anything and that's why you gave her the wand in the first place?"

"I don't think it's me you're mad at." Regina replied, not answering his question.

"Is that so?"

"You're mad at yourself. You said something to her, didn't you? You said something and now you've left her. Come on, spit it out."

Killian let out a heavy sigh and looked to the floor. "When I brought her back to her room, right before I left, I promised her I'd be back to get her after we dealt with Zelena."

"And she watched us get sucked up in that twister, didn't she?"

"Aye. And right after she told me about how she came to Storybrooke."

Regina was about to say something in response, but just as she opened her mouth, a voice outside the diner called her name.

"We'll get back to her." She reassured him before getting up and walking out of the diner.

Another Mills approached him soon after Regina left.

"I think I know something that will cheer you up." Henry said, throwing a newspaper down onto the counter in front of Killian.

"What is it?"

"Well," Henry began, "My mom's always complaining that we're outgrowing the loft and that we should just get our own house. I thought that you'd like to help pick one out and maybe, when we get back to Storybrooke, you could ask her to move in. Maybe there could even be a room for Rapunzel in it."

"That sounds like a great idea, Henry," Killian smiled, suddenly feeling a little bit brighter, "but it's missing something."

"What?"

"One of your trademark codenames."

"Oh that! I've already thought of one: Operation Light Swan."

"It's a perfect fit." Killian smiled, "Now, let's look at these newspapers."

* * *

Back in Storybrooke, a debilitated Rapunzel crept out of Granny's Inn. She peered around the doorway, looking for any signs of life. Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her.

"Isn't that the girl Grumpy found the day they all disappeared?" one voice said.

"She must be, look at her hair! Why isn't she with them?" another replied.

At the sound of the first mention of what had happened on her first day in Storybrooke, Rapunzel's blood began to boil. She did not know why, but a burning-hot rage was filling her tiny body and she wanted it out of her as soon as possible. She slowly turned around to see two short men standing within arm's reach of her.

"You're Rapunzel, aren't you?" One of the men said.

"I like your hair." The other added.

Suddenly, Rapunzel hated her name. All of the anger bubbling in her stomach directed itself toward that one detail and she wanted to scream. She hated that everybody knew who she was just by looking at her. She hated how everybody could call her name like they'd known her for years. She didn't want that. She wanted to be left alone.

One of the men took a few steps towards her and suddenly everything became too much for one little girl to handle all on her own. Rapunzel yelped and pushed the man away from her. The other man jumped forward, ready to help his friend, and Rapunzel shoved him away too. All of a sudden, Rapunzel's world became a whirlwind of shouts and screams and limbs she didn't think were her own until she fell to the ground, pounding the cracked asphalt with her bare feet and fists. She sobbed and sobbed in the middle of the road until a set of unfamiliar arms picked her up and carried her away.

When she woke up, she was lying in a dark room with padded walls.

* * *

Almost a full week later, Granny's Diner spun and whirled back to Storybrooke. Killian didn't remember leaving Camelot, but the next thing he knew, he was picking himself off the floor of Granny's Diner - back in Storybrooke. The main door opened and Sleepy and Sneezy stepped inside.

"What are you guys doing here?" The latter asked.

"What happened?" Mary Margaret asked.

"We're back." David said, perplexed, looking around at the diner.

"Bloody hell." Killian said, trying to remember what had happened, but coming up blank.

"This doesn't make any sense." Regina said, "We were just walking into Camelot." "What the hell are we wearing?" Grumpy asked, looking down at foreign clothing he'd never seen in this world. "Sneezy, what happened? How long were we gone?"

"Six weeks." Sneezy said, as if it were obvious.

"What?" Regina exclaimed.

"Our memories," David said, realizing why over a month in another world was completely forgotten, "they're gone."

"Again?" Mary Margaret asked, for this had happened far too many times.

There was a moment of silence as they all processed what had just happened, before, finally, someone spoke. "Where's Emma?" Killian asked, realizing that there was one person from Storybrooke who hadn't returned with them.

They heard a whooshing noise, like a gust of wind, before hearing Emma's voice.

"Relax." She said. Everyone's heads spun toward where the noise had come from. "I'm right here."

The voice may have been Emma's, but the person standing in the doorway of Granny's Diner certainly wasn't. They were tall and very blonde and dressed in head to toe black leather.

"Mom?" Henry asked, trying very hard to see his mother behind everything else, "What happened to you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Emma replied. She began to walk towards them. "You went to Camelot to get the darkness out of me," She stopped in front of Mary Margaret, resting her hand on her mother's cheek. "and you failed."

Someone behind them sneezed. Emma whipped around to face Sneezy.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Emma asked, threateningly.

Sneezy said nothing, but just as he began to nervously sneeze again, Emma waved her hand and turned him to stone.

Everything after that blurred for Killian. Everything after Emma committed that act of darkness blurred. Killian ignored the exchange between Emma and Regina until he couldn't hold his words in any longer.

"Why are you doing this?"

Emma's reply was simple. "Because, I am the Dark One."

* * *

Emma left after she said those words. She disappeared in a cloud of smoke and didn't return. The others stood rooted to their spots. For several minutes, nobody spoke. Nobody moved.

Then, for the first time since they returned to Storybrooke, Killian thought of Rapunzel and it was like his mind jumpstarted.

Wordlessly, he ran out of the diner and up the stairs of Granny's Inn. His sudden movement shocked the others out of their immobility. He strode down the hallway to Rapunzel's room.

The door stood wide open. Killian's heart plummeted into his was there.

He thundered back down to the diner, where the others were still shaking themselves out of silence.

Killian turned to Sleepy, and asked in the most menacing voice he could muster, "Where's Rapunzel?"

* * *

 **And that was chapter 2! Yay! Unfortunately, I don't think the future chapters will be as long as these first two, but they will exist, so that's something.**

 **I think Friday's will be my update!**

 **I also want to thank the people who've already followed and favorited because it means so much to me! Thank you so much!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Aloha Oncers! I know, I know. I'm only three chapters in and I'm already late for uploading, but I have a valid excuse. My midterms were last week and with all the studying I just didn't have time to write. Sorry! I'll just jump right into the story from here.**

 **Oh, one more thing. I changed Rapunzel's age from ten to eight. I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing this other than the way I was writing her (the way she spoke) did not sound like a ten year old. I hope that doesn't bother you guys.**

 **Disclaimer: Hyperactive disclaimer of not owning this because I don't don't don't.**

* * *

"Where's Rapunzel?" Killian asked again, taking a step towards Sleepy. Sleepy looked to Sneezy for support, only to remember that he had been turned to stone. He gulped.

"Uh," Sleepy stammered.

"You know, don't you?" Killian asked furiously, "Tell me!"

"Uh, well," Sleepy began, nervously looking to the others for help but not getting any, "Uh, after you'd left, she didn't come out or ask for help or anything, so we never saw her. We just thought she was with you. When you'd been gone for a while, we, uh, saw her come out of Granny's Inn, and we tried to help her and she, sort of, freaked out. She was going after us - like hitting us and stuff - and then she just fell and was yelling and crying. We didn't know what to do, so we, er, got Doctor Whale and he didn't really know what to do with her either and she was making a lot of noise and going kind of crazy, so we, uh, put her down in the psychiatric ward in the hospital."

Without a response, Killian spun on his heels and began to run to the hospital. On his way out of the diner, he heard Regina angrily say, "You put a eight year old in an asylum?"

* * *

It was dark out - almost midnight, and cold September-in-Maine wind cut Killian's face as it raced over him, but he didn't care. He hurried into the hospital, ignoring the few people in the waiting room who's heads snapped up at his entrance. Killian descended into the basement and entered the password - 815 - Henry's birthday. Ignoring Nurse Ratched's protests, he grabbed the ring of keys from the hook behind the desk and headed down the hallway.

He peered through the little windows on the metal doors until, finally, in one of the last cells, he found Rapunzel. She sat crosslegged in the center of the concrete floor, wearing the customary blue hospital gown. Her hair was mangled and unkempt and so dirty that it appeared brown. Rapunzel held it about her like a blanket. Her face was bent to the floor.

Killian fumbled with the keys on the ring until he found the one that fit. He twisted it inside the lock several more times than necessary to ensure that the door was unlatched. He pulled the door wide open. Rapunzel slowly looked up and Killian saw a wild look in her eye that he'd never expected to see. However, as soon as Rapunzel realized who had opened the door, she relaxed. Then, there was no expression on her face at all. She uncrossed her legs and stood up, not breaking eye contact with Killian.

Rapunzel took a step closer so she was within arm's reach of Killian and suddenly she was hitting his stomach with her hands balled into fists. It didn't hurt Killian, but it was enough to make him take a step back. He waited because he knew he deserved it. As she hit him, Rapunzel's shallow breaths turned into gasps and then sobs and the punches slowed as she tired out and suddenly she had wrapped her little arms around his waist and was hugging him as hard as she could. Her body trembled with silent cries interrupted by the occasional long, drawn-out whimper and she gripped the back of his leather coat with her little fingers. Killian took a few heavy breaths, processing what had happened. Finally, Killian bent down and lifted Rapunzel into his arms. She tucked her legs around his waist and locked her arms behind his neck, crying now into his shoulder.

Still carrying the little girl, Killian began to walk out of the hospital.

* * *

Killian took Rapunzel back to Granny's Inn. By the time they reached the diner, everybody had gone. Sneezy's statue had been removed - presumably by Leroy and the other dwarves - and Granny had even abandoned her post behind the counter and had gone to bed.

As Killian walked upstairs, Rapunzel was still sniffling into his shoulder. He elbowed open the door to her room and set her down on her bed. It was still made.

"Have you slept at all?" Killian asked, surveying the wrinkle-less quilt and symmetrically placed pillows.

Rapunzel shook her head, rubbing her eyes with her fists. Killian noticed that she was shivering. He grabbed the plaid blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around Rapunzel's shoulders, painstakingly noticing that besides the hospital gown, she had no clothes of her own.

"Get some sleep, love." Killian said, pulling back the sheets and helping Rapunzel under them, "We'll talk in the morning."

"I don't wanna sleep." she said, kicking the blankets away. "I wanna talk now. Where'd you go? I saw the diner fly away and then you were gone!"

"I know." Killian replied.

"You were gone for so long."

"I know." he repeated.

"You promised you'd come back. You promised."

"I know." he said for the third time.

"You promised you'd come back and then you left. Why didn't you take me with you?"

"I would have, if I knew we were leaving."

"You would?" she questioned.

"I would have. I promise, Rapunzel."

"Sam." she interrupted.

"What?" Killian asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I don't wanna be Rapunzel anymore." she replied, nonchalantly.

"Why don't you want to be Rapunzel anymore?" Killian asked, sitting next to the little girl's legs. He reached out and tucked a stray curl of matted hair behind her ear, making a note of taking care of it tomorrow.

"Because everybody knows who I am," she replied, twisting and untwisting her tangled hair around her fingers and wrapping it around her hand.

"Is that such a bad thing?" Killian asked.

"So many people can just talk to me and say my name like they've known me forever. I don't like it."

"Well, I suppose that's fair." Killian nodded, remembering guiltily that he had done the same thing when she had arrived in Storybrooke, "Why did you pick Sam?"

"Because that was the name of a person in one of my books."

"Then you picked well." Killian smiled. "Now, go to sleep. It's been a long day."

"No-o!" Sam whined, drawing out the word, "I'm still mad at you! You left me here all alone after you promised you wouldn't."

"I know I did but I was trying to protect you." Killian protested.

"Protect me from what?" Sam screeched.

"There are bad people out there and they could hurt you."

"Like who?" Sam argued.

"The person who summoned the tornado that took me away."

"Oh." she replied, seemingly subdued for the moment. She looked down at her lap, remembering watching the diner get sucked up in the twister. Then, she snapped back up, "Why were you there for so long?"

"We didn't know how to get back, and once we got there, we had to do some things."

"Like what?"

"Ra-Sam," he corrected himself, "Someone I love very much is in a lot of trouble right now. She was with us and we had to try to save her."

"Did you?" Sam asked, looking up at Killian curiously.

"No."

"Okay." Sam replied, finally pulling the blankets up to her chin, "I think you will."

"I hope you're right." Killian stood up and began to leave the room, but as a second thought, he turned back and lightly kissed Sam's forehead.

Sam smiled.

"Goodnight." Killian said, smiling back. He turned to leave for a second time before Sam's voice stopped him again.

"Wait." she said, "Where are you going?"

"Just across the hall." he replied, pointing at the door.

"Will you come back?"

Killian sighed, remembering that the last time he'd left the little girl in this room, he hadn't returned as quickly as he'd promised. He turned back towards Sam.

"Tell you what," he said. "Why don't I stay with you until you fall asleep."

Sam nodded. Killian sat on the edge of Sam's bed and leaned up against the headboard.

"Can you tell me about the person you tried to save?" Sam asked, pulling Killian's arm around her shoulder

"Her name is Emma."

"She's a she!" Sam exclaimed. "Is she pretty?"

"She's beautiful." Killian smiled.

"You said you love her. Do you want to marry her?"

"I would like that very much."

"Why's she in trouble?" Sam pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her head on Killian's chest.

"There are dark things inside of her, and they're making her do terrible things. I want to get the dark things out of her. We all left because we wanted to help her, but she doesn't want them out anymore."

Killian looked down at Sam and saw that her eyes had closed and her breathing had steadied. He started to pull his arm away, but Sam stirred at his movement and Killian quickly froze. He sighed, knowing that he would not move for fear of waking her up, but soon decided that he kind of liked feeling her weight against his side, and relaxed, pulling another blanket over them and turning off the light.

* * *

Killian woke up later than he normally did. He suddenly was very aware of the little body curled up next to him. He looked over at Sam and saw two big bottle-green eyes staring back at him.

"You're awake." Killian rasped, pushing himself up with his elbow.

"Yup." Sam nodded. Her stomach rumbled and she looked sheepishly down at it.

"How about we get ready for the day and go get some breakfast."

Sam nodded and climbed over Killian and out of bed.

Killian found a travel sized toothbrush and tube of toothpaste in a drawer in the bathroom and showed Sam how to brush her teeth before crossing back over into his room to get ready himself.

Soon, they were in the diner eating breakfast.

"What are these?" Sam asked, her mouth stuffed with food.

"They're called waffles," Killian laughed, "Slow down, love. I don't think they're going anywhere."

"They're just so good!" Sam yelped through bites of her waffle.

"If you like that, you'll love ice cream." Killian smiled, shaking his head.

"What's ice cream?" Sam asked.

"Ice cream is cold and sweet and comes in every flavor imaginable. We'll try it sometime."

Sam practically shook with excitement.

* * *

When they finished eating breakfast, Killian took Sam's hand and led her to Ruby, who was hanging up her apron.

"Hi Killian!" She said, smiling. She bent down to Sam's eye level. "Who's this?"

"This is Sam," Killian said, "And I was actually wondering if you could help us with something."

"Hello Sam!" Ruby said, standing up straight, "I'd be happy to help! What do you need?"

"Well, as you probably can see, aside from this hospital gown, Sam's lacking adequate clothing. I'm going to assume that you have a better eye for fashion than I would, so if you're not too busy, it would mean a lot if you could help Sam."

"It'd be my honor to help this little cutie." Ruby replied. "My shift actually just ended. We could go now if you wanted."

"Really?" Sam asked excitedly, apparently taking a liking to Ruby.

"Really." Ruby laughed.

"Let's go then!" Sam said urgently, taking Killian's hand in one of her own and Ruby's hand in the other and dragging them out of the diner.

"I actually have something to take care of," Killian said, relinquishing himself from Sam's grip, suddenly reminded of a plan he had devised the night before, "But I will meet you in a little bit."

"You're leaving?" Sam said nervously.

"I just have to talk to some people. I'll be back soon."

"Okay." Sam anxiously agreed.

As Sam and Ruby turned and walked towards the row of shops lining the street, Killian hurried into Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop. He pushed open the door and was speaking to the woman standing in front of the counter before she had even acknowledged his presence.

"True love's kiss." he began. "I need to know why it didn't work for you and the bloody Crocodile."

"Why, it did work," Belle replied, a bit sadly, "the first time. It awoke the man behind the beast. But Rumple got scared of a life without power, and he chose power over love. He pulled away from me, and in that moment, the darkness forever regained its grip on him." She hesitated a fraction of a second before she said her next words. "You know, a curse isn't a curse anymore when the afflicted wants it."

"That won't be a problem with Emma." Killian said adamantly, starting to turn away before Belle spoke again.

"Killian, wait. I know you think you can handle a dark-"

"I've battled him for centuries. I'm still here." Killian snapped.

"But you were trying to kill him. And now, well, it's far easier to hate a dark one than it is to love one. Be careful."

Killian turned on his heels and walked out of the pawnshop.

* * *

He didn't go very far. He crossed the road and stood by Emma's yellow car.

"Where are you?" He asked into space, running his one hand over the hood of the bug. "Don't make me summon you, Swan."

"You just did." Killian turned to face the source of the familiar voice and saw Emma, but she was not the Emma he knew. He only had a few moments to process the woman in front of him before he was swept away into nothingness.

The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of a big blue house that seemed vaguely familiar to him.

"I was looking for you too." Emma continued, as if they had always been standing on this stone walkway. "The new look comes with some other perks."

"Where the bloody hell are we?" Killian asked.

"My place. Come on." Emma gestured for him to follow her up a tall wooden staircase. Killian thought of Sam, and how he'd promised he'd return shortly and yet he was still so far away, and then he thought of Emma and how much she needed his help, far more than she knew. He took a deep breath and followed Emma up the stairs and into the house.

* * *

While Killian was with Emma, Ruby and Sam had finished their shopping. Ruby had brought Sam back to her room at Granny's Inn, deciding to run what may have been the first baths Sam ever had. As Ruby washed vast amounts of shampoo through Sam's hair, Sam played with the frothy bubbles and asked questions she'd been wondering about for a while.

"Why is Killian so sad?" She asked, squishing the bubbles in her fists.

"I think everyone is a little sad right now, Sammie." Ruby said, working her fingers through a particularly large knot.

"Is it because of Emma?"

"It might be." Ruby replied.

"Do you think Emma knows how sad everyone is?"

"I don't know."

"If she did know, would she stop what she's doing?"

"Maybe. There are some bad things in her right now."

"I know!" Sam said proudly, happy to be involved in this somehow, "Killian told me."

"Yes, well, those bad things are making her do some bad things and think some bad thoughts. They don't want to leave her and they're making her think that she wants them, even though she really doesn't. Everyone - especially Killian - is trying to get the bad things out of her, but she's being, well, difficult."

"Oh." Sam said, thinking very hard about what Ruby had told her.

* * *

One failed True Love's Kiss later and Killian sat at the bar in Granny's Diner holding up a flask filled with rum.

"You know, Granny will give you a glass if you ask." Killian didn't have to turn around to recognize Belle. She sat down on a barstool next to him, placing the jar containing a glittering rose carefully on the counter in front of her. "You tried to kiss her?"

"Aye. She didn't even flinch." Killian downed the remaining rum in one long draft.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not over. I spent over a century trying to find a way to kill the bloody Crocodile. I can spend at least that long trying to save the woman I love."

"Yeah." Belle smiled sadly.

They both looked up when the door to Granny's Inn was pushed open. Ruby stepped through it, closing it quickly behind her and leaving her hand on the door knob. Belle and Killian both turned to face her.

"May I introduce," she began, really only addressing the two sitting at the bar, "The new and improved, Sammie!"

Ruby opened the door and Sam bashfully stepped through it. She was wearing one of her new outfits: a yellow cardigan, a brightly patterned shirt, cuffed shorts, white tights with thin pink stripes, and brown moccasins. Her hair was sleek and shiny and cornsilk blonde, and the big curls bounced as she moved. Killian smiled.

"You look great, love." he said.

"Thank you." Sam replied, blushing slightly and hanging her head towards the floor.

"I take it you had a nice time shopping." Killian said. Sam looked up and nodded, her big smile returning to her face, "Ruby did a nice job. Did she help you with your hair?"

"Yes she did!" Sam nodded. "She washed it with bubbles that smelled like flowers and then she brushed it."

"I also got some of these while we were shopping." Ruby added, stepping forward and holding out a set of hairbands. "I figured that if wearing her hair down all the time got to be too hard, she could put it up."

"Cool!" Sam exclaimed, clearly already picking up some of the modern vernacular. She took the bands from Ruby and started to examine them until another voice broke her concentration.

"Someone told me that someone here has never tried ice cream before." Granny said. She placed a big ice cream sundae complete with whipped cream and maraschino cherry on to the counter. Sam gasped dramatically and looked to Killian, who shrugged nonchalantly. Getting the message, Sam launched herself into Killian's arms.

"Thank you!" She repeated over and over into his shirt.

"Well, try it before it melts." Killian replied, not entirely sure of what else to say. He pulled Sam up so she was sitting on his knee, and handed her a spoon.

* * *

Emma stood outside Granny's Diner. Someone had turned on the jukebox and she could faintly hear music playing out of it. She saw her mother and father sitting in the booth they always sat in. She looked a little to the right and saw Henry standing next to the same girl he'd met in Camelot. Emma almost laughed a little bit at history's ability to repeat itself. She looked towards the bar where she knew Killian would be sitting. When she saw him, she furrowed her eyebrows, seeing not a sullen man nursing a flask of rum, but a smiling one, looking down at something blocked by the door. Emma moved closer to get a better look and as she did, she saw a little girl with the longest hair she'd ever seen jump into Killian's arms. Killian's face brightened even more and he helped the girl onto his lap.

Not feeling as good as she thought she would, she turned and began to walk away.

* * *

 **So I already have over 100 reads and we're only two chapters in! Thank you all so much!**

 **Also, I don't really know if Ruby is actually in Storybrooke post-curse, but I love her and I miss her so I'm doing it.**

 **If any of you want to see what Rapunzel's outfit actually looks like, it's in my Pinterest (ParchmentandQuill8).**

 **Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I've had the idea for the events in this particular chapter since I first had the idea for the story. However, it did't really fit into any of the episodes on the show so I kind of just stuck it between 5x6 and 5x8. It references 5x6 so I guess that's where this chapter would fall on a timeline of OUaT, but it doesn't really matter. I also skipped several episodes of season 5 because they were a bit irrelevant to this story, so I've excluded 5x4, 5x5, and 5x6 (I'm probably also going to skip 5x7). They still exist in this universe, I just didn't write them.**

 **Mailbag:**

 **Meesh (Guest): Thanks for being my first review! I'm really glad you like my story. Writing about kids is one of my favorite things because they are so versatile, and almost all of my fanfictions have had at least one of them. On the Sam/Emma topic, you're in luck *winkwink***

 **Disclaimer: Yoooou shall watch the spinning object, give to me the ownership of Once Upon a Time, yes you shall…**

* * *

For Rapunzel, the next few days were a blur of unfamiliar people and places. She watched Henry's heart break and she watched King Arthur of Camelot befriend and betray the people of Storybrooke. She hear the name "Emma" repeated over and over again, and yet she had never met her. That is, she'd never met her until one day when Sam had walked to the library all by herself. Killian had told her that she should never leave the diner without an adult, but Sam had just finished her last book. The library was only just across the street, and Belle was almost always inside, so Sam shout it would be okay. What Sam didn't know what that at that moment, Merida was pursuing Belle and Rumplestiltskin throughout Storybrooke. But Sam didn't know that, so with a stack of books in tow, she stepped out of the diner and onto Main Street.

* * *

Emma had been watching Sam, both through her dreamcatchers and through sightings around Storybooks as she watched over Killian and the others. She'd been looking for a time to speak with the little girl, but found her to always be surrounded by people who wanted to keep her as far away from the Dark One as possible. You can imagine what a treat is was for Emma when she realized that the little girl who was _so_ special to Killian walked across Main Street all by herself and went into the library Emma knew to be empty.

Emma spun in midair and appeared in a cloud of black smoke in the middle of the library, between two shelves of books. She watched between the books as the little girl slid her old books carefully into the return box. She turned and began to walk towards Emma's aisle, still unaware of the Dark One's presence. Emma stealthily slipped into the adjacent aisle, watching the little girl peruse the books on the shelves.

The girl's blond curls were pulled up into a ponytail that day, and even though it was perched at the top of her head, the ends almost touched the floor. It swung around her as she turned the corner and Emma heard a little intake of breath. She slowly turned towards the source of the noise and saw the little girl standing very still in front of her. She looked like a giant doll, so much so that Emma was reminded of a porcelain doll she had been given when she was younger. Her face was narrow and white with cheeks that were pink in just the right places. Her nose was small and short and turned up at the end, and her lips were pale and small and heart-shaped.

What was most noticeable was her eyes. They were big - so big that hey seemed to take up half of her face in comparison to how small everything else was - and round and a shocking shade of green. Through the sunlight pouring through the windows around them, the green melted into rays of gold and brown, speckled with blue and grey. They stared unblinkingly up at Emma, but they did not radiate fear or concern. On the contrary, the way they crinkled at the edges made it look like she was smiling at her, even though her mouth wasn't.

"What, may I ask, are you?" Emma asked, attempting to maintain an intimidating composure.

"I'm Sam." The little girl replied loudly. She shrunk down a bit, taken aback by her sudden outburst of confidence.

"Sam, is it?"

"Yes." Sam replied.

"Where are your guard dogs?"

"Trying to figure out how to stop you." Sam replied bravely, regaining her courage.

"They should know that I can't be stopped."

"Why are you making everybody feel so sad?" Sam asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Emma replied, rolling back her shoulders and standing even taller.

"Yes you do." Sam argued. "Killian told me that bad things are inside of you, and Ruby told me that the bad things in you are making you _do_ bad things and that they don't want to leave you and that," Sam scrunched up her face in concentration as she tried to remember what Ruby had told her, "they're making you think you want them."

"What's it to you?" Emma asked defensively, not prepared for such a young child to be told so much about her.

"What's it to me is that you're making Killian sad and I know he's sad because when he thinks of you his jaw gets all clenched and he forgets to listen when I talk to him. He's my most important person and I don't want him to be sad."

"Then tell him that everything I'm doing is for him and that it is tone of his concern. Or yours."

"If it's for him, I think it is his concern." Sam corrected.

"We're not here to talk about Killian!" Emma said loudly. "I'm here to talk to you! I know what you can do."

"Emma stepped towards Sam and reached out to the younger girl's hair." Sam began to slowly step back.

"Don't touch me." Sam said nervously.

"I know your hair is magic. I've seen you do it."

"Emma was right. As Sam began to feel safe in her new home, she started to use her magic again - only alone, and in small doses. She didn't want anybody to know about what she could do yet. She wasn't ready for that.

"So?" Sam replied, knowing now that pretending that she didn't know what Emma was talking about wasn't helping her situation at all. "You do magic all the time."

"I don't try to hide my magic. You do. Why?"

"I'm not telling." Sam replied. By now, she had backed out of the aisle, and she spun on her heels and round out of the library.

* * *

"Wow," Killian said, upon seeing Sam seated at a booth in Granny's Diner. "Waffles for dinner. That's new."

"Granny said I could!" Sam pointed dramatically towards Granny, who shrugged nonchalantly and started to wipe down a table.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with it as long as you saved me some." Killian sat across from Sam, who pointed to a second plate of waffles. Killian pulled it towards him. "Sorry I was late, busy day. What did you do today?"

"I finished my last book."

"Which one?"

"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," Sam answered, drizzling warm syrup on her waffles, "and it was the late book so I went to the library to get some more."

Killian froze. "You what?"

"I went to the library."

"Did Granny take you?"

"No."

"Did anybody take you?"

"No."

"You're telling me that you walked to the library, alone, after I explicitly told you not to." Killian didn't really know what to do. He'd never expected Sam to defy him so quickly, and now that she had, he had no idea how to respond.

"I just wanted some more books." Sam replied pitifully, blinking her big eyes and knowing that Killian could be mad at her for _too_ long.

"I know, Sam," Killian replied, "but I told you not to go outside without an adult."

"I'm okay, I promise. I just wanted more books. I'm sorry!"

Killian sighed. He didn't want to see Sam looking so upset. "Alright, but don't do it again, okay?" Sam nodded frantically. "So what books did you get? I hope your little adventure proved to be a success."

"I didn't get any books 'cause Emma was there."

The metal cutlery that Killian had just picked up clanged loudly against the glass plate and he dropped them. "Emma was there?" Sam nodded. "What did she want?"

"She wanted to talk to me."

"About what?"

Sam shrugged, wishing now that she hadn't brought it up, looking down at her waffles.

"Sam." Killian said, trying to keep Sam from slipping into a silence that she fell into when someone started to push her past her limits. "What did Emma say to you?"

"She found out something about me." Sam replied, hoping that her answer would satisfy Killian's question. It didn't.

"What did she find out?" Killian asked, "Something about your past?"

Sam hesitated before shrugging again. Killian knew that he was on to something.

"Fine." he said, sitting up straighter. "Let's start with something easier. How did you get to Storybrooke?"

"I told you, I don't know!" Sam replied, frustrated. She'd been asked that question too many times. "I was in Corona when my Grandmother took me away and when she died and I got away I was here."

"You lived with your Grandmother when you were in Corona. Where were your parents?"

"They didn't want me."

"Every parent wants their child." Killian replied angrily.

Sam shook her head. "Not mine. They were the king and queen. They had to run Corona all by themselves. They didn't want a baby in their way, so they gave me to my Grandmother."

"Where are your parents now?"

"There was a fire at the castle. It happened a few weeks after I was born and I was with my Grandmother. People in Corona were mad at my parents because they did bad things to them, so they set the castle on fire."

"Your parents died?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks, but I don't think they deserve it."

"So you lived with your grandmother. How did she kidnap you if she was already with you."

"She locked me away."

"Why?"

"She…she found out what I could do."

"And what's that?" Killian was hesitant to ask that question.

"Please don't make me tell you." Sam pleaded.

"Sam, if Emma put the effort into seek you out personally, she wants something from you. Trust me. The only way I can keep you safe is if you tell me what Emma wants."

Sam looked pitifully up at Killian, but upon realizing that he wasn't going to let up, she began to speak.

"Fine. I'll tell you. Close your eyes." Sam ordered. Killian immediately obeyed, willing to do whatever he had to do to help Sam. he listened to the silence, searching for any kind of noise but hearing none. Finally, Sam spoke again. "Okay. You can open your eyes now."

Killian opened his eyes, but didn't see anything different at first. Sam still sat in front of him with big green eyes. That hadn't changed. However, as Killian looked at the air around her, he saw what had. Her hair floated like it was suspended in water and it shimmered like a rainbow caught in a raindrop. Killian's eyes widened as he looked at Sam's hair.

"Your hair." He said breathlessly, "It's magic."

"Yeah."

"And you didn't tell anyone?"

"Nobody asked me." Sam replied innocently. She let her hair drop like a brick to where it had rested before and the color faded back to the blonde it always was.

"Is that why your grandmother kidnapped you."

Sam nodded. "My magic hurt her once. Then sho got scared of me, so she put me away where I couldn't hurt her again."

"What can your hair do?" Killian asked, still hoping to figure out why Emma was so interested in Sam.

Sam's reply was simple.

"It can heal people."

* * *

 **I think it's been made abundantly clear at this point that writing on a deadline is not working for me, so I'm going to give that up. We'll see how that goes.**

 **Review this because it makes me happy (and, you know, because I like getting your feedback. That too).**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Happy reading.**

 **Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time! Muaahahahah! Mine, all mine! OUAT? Mine? Please? Maybe just a little bit? Just one character then? How about a background one? Aw dammit. Selfish ABC.**

* * *

Sam spent the next week within the confines of Granny's Inn. Upon realizing that Emma was interested in Sam, Killian made absolutely sure that Emma would not get near her. Aside from the occasional voyage across Main Street to the library, Sam stayed inside. Sometimes, she read in her bed or on her couch, and sometimes she would sit in the diner with waffles or ice cream and pour over book after book.

"I finished the last book." Sam said to Killian one day.

"Aye, well, it's too late to go to the library now. We'll go tomorrow and you can pick out some more."

"No. I finished _the last book_." Sam corrected.

"You read every single book?" Killian asked dubiously.

"It's not a very big library."

"There's no way you read every single book in that entire building."

"Well, not all of them." Sam replied, tipping her head to the side, "Belle said I'm not old enough to read some of them yet, but I've read all of the ones I _can_ read. What am I going to do for fun now if I can't leave this place?"

Killian thought for a moment and as he did he looked around the diner, searching for something that could occupy an eight-year-old. Finally, his eyes rested on Henry, who sat in a booth with Regina, Robin, and Roland.

"I have an idea." Killian said, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Do you know what school is?"

* * *

It was unseasonably warm in Storybrooke the next morning, so Killian decided to walk Sam to her new school instead of putting her on the bus. Henry and Mary Margaret followed along with them.

Sam held tightly onto Killian's hand as they walked down the cracked sidewalk.

"There's nothing to be worried about, love." Killian reassured her.

"Yeah." Henry added. "You're going to have so much fun. You'll be in Mary Margaret's class."

"Yeah, that's right, you will." Mary Margaret said. "We're learning how to divide right now. Do you know how to divide?" Sam shook her head. "Well, by the end of the day, you will. Next week we're going to build a volcano."

"What's that?" Sam asked curiously.

"It's a big mountain filled with liquid fire called lava. When it gets really hot, all the lava bursts out of it." Mary Margaret replied.

Sam's eyes widened nervously.

"You're going to erupt a volcano in the presence of young children?" Killian asked skeptically.

"We make it out of paper mâché, baking soda, and vinegar," Mary Margaret laughed, "so there's no lava, but it bubbles and makes some funny noises. Does that sound fun, Sam?"

Sam nodded. By now they had reached the school. It was made of red bricks with white windows. Sam thought that it was very tall. There were picnic benches outside the school and a lot of children sat around them. Others chased each other around the grass. Sam had never seen so many of them before. She held on to Killian's hand tighter. Henry wished Sam good luck on her first day and kept walking down the road to the secondary school, and then it was just Sam, Killian, and Mary Margaret.

"Well, go on then." Killian said, not entirely sure what to say otherwise. Sam looked pitifully up at him. "You'll be fine." Killian pulled his hand out of Sam's grip.

"I don't think I want to go." Sam said, looking nervously towards the other kids, "I want to stay at the diner."

"You said that there wasn't anything for you to do there." Killian replied.

"I'll find something." Sam replied hopefully, grabbing Killian's hand again and starting to pull him away from the school.

"Hold it." Killian said. He stopped moving. Sam tried in vain to yank him away from the school, but she succeeded in nothing but pulling herself towards him. "Are you nervous about starting school, love?"

"No." Sam replied stubbornly. Killian raised his eyebrows.

"Well then, you should have no trouble marching right into that building and having some fun at school." Killian said, pointing to the building.

Sam looked over Killian's shoulder at the school and then back to Killian. She could feel her heart pounding inside her chest. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see a few of the kids pointing to her and whispering. She already knew what they were talking about. The was a colossal clanging sound as the bell signify the start of the school day rang and Sam realized that now she had no choice but to go inside. Her lower lip trembled and she blinked furiously to make the tears go away. Killian saw the impending meltdown and bent down to Sam's level, wrapping her in his arms.

"Sammie." He said, listening to her take in deep breaths. "You're okay, love, you're okay. You're going to have a great time at school and I'll be back at three o'clock to get you. I promise."

By now, Sam's breathing had steadied. She stepped back from Killian, who smiled reassuringly.

"You promise?" Sam asked.

"I promise." Killian repeated

She nodded slowly. Killian kissed her forehead and stood up.

"Have a good day, my love." he said. Sam nodded again and turned towards the school. Mary Margaret, who'd been standing to the side since they'd arrived at the school yard, reached out her hand to Sam and led her inside.

Killian looked at the clock tower. It read 8:01. He only had six hours and fifty nine minutes until he could come back for Sam.

* * *

By 2:15, he was lying on his back on the forest floor with a sword pointed directly at his chest. His own cutlass was inches away from his hand, but even with such a small distance between the two, it was useless to Killian lying amongst the dead leaves.

"Shame." Arthur said. "It's always the simple mistakes that get us killed."

Arthur swung the sword back and Killian put his hand up to his face. Suddenly, the only thing in Killian's mind was Sam, and how he'd promised that he would be back for her at three o'clock and how it'd be the second time he'd promised her something and failed to deliver.

There was a loud clang of metal on metal as Arthur's sword hit another. As Killian got to his feet, he saw Emma wave her arm and sound Arthur into the air. He slammed against a tree and fell to the ground with a loud crunching noise. Then he was still.

Killian suddenly became very aware that it was just he and Emma now. He realized that in the face of death, she'd been far out of his mind. He was overcome with such a feeling of guilt that all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her.

Instead, he said, "I suppose I should say thank you."

"You don't need to say anything." Emma replied. "Just don't do that again."

"I should apologize for what I said that day aboard my ship."

"For when you refused to accept me or when you said you did not love me?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that." Killian replied, attempting to rid himself of the guilt that had suddenly crept up inside of him.

"Doesn't matter. I'm the Dark One."

"You're more than the Dark One. You're still you. You saved me. That was Emma."

"What do you want from me?"

"I want to help you. And I need your help to do it. Who is Nimue, and how can she defeat the darkness?"

"Nimue doesn't matter anymore. This will all be over tomorrow."

"What will be over? And why do you need that damned sword? Ah. All this power, and you don't even have the courage to answer one simple bloody question. Why do you need Excalibur?"

His guilt was turning into anger as he realized that he had done nothing wrong. It was Emma that was making him feel this way. Emma, and her manipulation and lies and distrust of everyone around her. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. However, Emma had different plans. She turned and began to walk away from Killian, who made a last-ditch attempt to get something out of her. "I know you're still in there, Emma, and I know that despite everything, you always have your reasons!"

"You're right! I do! You want to know why I'm doing all of this?" Emma turned to face him once more. "I'm doing it for you."

As Killian's face fell, Emma vanished in a cloud of black smoke. Killian stared blankly at the spot where she had just stood, feeling more confused, guilty, and upset than he had when Arthur was pointing a sword at his chest.

* * *

Killian stood on the sidewalk in front of Sam's new school. The clock tower read 2:59. He watched the smallest hand creep up towards the twelve. At exactly three o'clock, the bell clanged, signifying the ending of the school day. Almost instantly, a stream of children rushed out of the school. Killian watched the tall doors, waiting for Sam to come out of them. Finally, Sam appeared in the doorway, along with the few remaining stragglers. Mary Margaret was walking along side her, and as they went down the stone steps, she was listening to Sam talk animatedly. Killian could only assume that it was about books. They walked across the grass towards Killian. Upon reaching him, Sam wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into his side. Killian ran his fingers through her curls and brushed her hair away from her face.

"How did today go?" he asked, more addressing Mary Margaret than Sam.

"Pretty well." she replied, "She's very good at division, just like I knew she would be. I think she may have been overwhelmed by all of the kids."

"Were there too many people, love?" Killian asked, looking down at Sam. He felt her shrug. "Well, maybe tomorrow will be a better day."

"Well, I have a meeting right now," Mary Margaret said, pointing back towards the school, "I just wanted to make sure she got back to you. I'll see you both later."

Mary Margaret waved and turned back towards the school.

"So," Killian said, detaching himself from Sam and taking her hand in his. They started to walk back towards the diner. "all-in-all, not a terrible day?"

Sam shrugged again.

"Were there really too many kids?"

"They all wanted to touch my hair."

"Ah." Killian said. "I'll bet you didn't like that. Tell you what, I have a surprise for you for later, but right now I have to go take care of something. Can you stay with Ruby in the diner and I'll be back later?"

"Okay." Sam agreed.

* * *

After an incredibly frustrating experience at the police station, and another one in Mr. Gold's shop, none of Killian's questions had been answered. But now, he was done waiting for Emma to be ready. He was done torturing himself so Emma didn't have to push herself past limits Killian didn't think existed anymore.

"EMMA!" he shouted into the air, knowing that she could hear him. Then he said - lower this time, "What happened between us? What do you want from me?"

Killian turned and began walking towards the diner, formulating a plan as he went.

* * *

After surprise-ice cream sundaes, Killian put Sam to bed. As he turned off the light and began to close her bedroom door, he told her that he'd see her in the morning, because he would. Even though the plan he had created was a suicide mission, he knew that he would not die. The Dark One would not let that happen.

Moving mechanically, Killian left the diner and walked across the street and to the roof of the library, calling Emma Swan's name as he went. He stepped up onto the edge of the building and looked out onto the town, repeating Emma's name once more.

"I guess we'll have to do this the hard way." he said, as he bent his knees and jumped off the roof.

* * *

Minutes later, Killian was stepping through the doorway of Emma's house.

"I've already seen your home, Swan." he said, "Why are we here? You promised me the truth, not a bloody tour."

"The truth is tricky. You have to look for it." Emma looked not at Killian as she said those words, but at a telescope that was pointed out of a window.

"All right. I'll play your game." Killian crossed the room and put his eye to the telescope. He was met with something wondrous; something that reminded him of all the good times he had out on the open waters: the Storybrooke harbor. The water glittered, alit by pale moonlight. "Oh. I guess being the Dark One has its perks. That is a stunning view of the sea. There's no sight like a full moon on the waves."

"Back in Camelot, you said the ocean calmed you," Emma replied, "I thought you might like to see it."

"You picked yourself a fine home. I give you that." Killian turned back towards her.

"I didn't pick it. You did." Emma nodded towards an old newspaper that rested on a table beside the telescope. Killian picked it up.

"That's my handwriting." Killian said, more of a question than anything else.

"You said this was our future together. Everything I've done has been to keep that future alive."

"Well, then I guess this is the moment that you tell me the truth." Killian said, stepping towards Emma. His heart pounded in his chest at the idea of finally getting some answers.

"Almost there. Almost." Emma replied, placing her hands on Killian's leaned forward and placed her lips on his. She put her hand on the nape of his neck, pulling him closer to her. She hadn't even pulled away before she said, "I can't tell you everything that happened between us until it's all over."

"Why not?"

"Because if you knew what I was really after, you'd do everything in your power to stop me."

Killian's vision suddenly blurred and his knees buckled. He felt an excruciating pain, but had no idea where it was coming from. He fell onto Emma, feeling her hand go onto his back in an attempt to keep him standing. He collapsed to his knees, looking up into the Dark One's face. As the world went black, he stammered, "What did you do?"

* * *

During all that was happening in Storybrooke, Sam had been fast asleep. That is, until the moment Killian passed out. At exactly that moment, she sat straight up in bed, feeling something funny inside of her. She quickly got dressed and hurried into the diner, where Ruby was still serving customers.

"Sam!" Ruby exclaimed, looking at a clock that read 10:30, "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"I was." Sam replied, "But I woke up. Where's Killian?"

"Uh, he left not too long after he put you to bed."

"But where is he?" Sam asked urgently. "I think something's wrong."

"What do you mean 'you think something is wrong'?" Ruby asked, stepping out from behind the counter to bend down to Sam's eye level.

"I was asleep, and then I felt a funny feeling in my stomach and I woke up and I think it's 'cause something's wrong with Killian."

"Well, I don't know where he went, but I know something is going on with Zelena and her baby, and everybody is with her. Maybe he's there, or if not, maybe one of them knows where Killian is."

Ruby grabbed her jacket and Sam's coat from a hook by the door and just as they were heading outside, Regina, Mary Margaret, David, and Belle entered the diner.

"We were just going to look for you." Ruby said. "Do any of you know where Killian is?"

"Great." Regina said, exasperated, "Now we have two people to find."

"I'll bet wherever Emma took Zelena, Killian is there too." Mary Margaret said. "But we have to start looking now. We don't have much time."

"I'll bet you anything they're in the basement in Emma's house." Belle said. "It's where she kept Rumple when we first came back to Storybrooke."

"I guess we'd better go then."

"I wanna go too!" Sam said, grabbing her coat out of Ruby's hand.

"You can't." Regina replied simply.

"Why not?" Sam said, crossing her arms and scrunching up her nose.

"Because Emma is dangerous. She could hurt you."

"I don't care. I want to help save Killian."

Regina sighed. Finally, she said, "Fine."

Mary Margaret pulled Regina away by the arm.

"Are you insane?" she said. "She's eight years old!"

"Look, we don't have a lot of time, and I'm certainly not wasting it arguing with someone who's as stubborn as Sam is."

"Fine," Mary Margaret nodded, glancing at the clock, "but she's staying with you. If worse comes to worst and Emma goes after her, you're going to be the one to protect her."

"Alright, whatever." Regina agreed. She turned back to Sam and the others. "Sam, get your coat on. Let's go."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Sam, Regina, Mary Margaret, and David were walking up to Emma's house. Sam held tightly onto Regina's hand.

"I don't understand." Mary Margaret was saying as they approached a gate that sat in a white picket fence. "How can Emma destroy light magic using Zelena?"

"She can't." Regina replied.

"What is she planning?" David asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." she answered, pushing open the front gate and striding into Emma's lawn. "All I know is no one hurts my sister but me."

"What are you planning to do once you find Emma?" Mary Margaret asked nervously.

"Oh, it's simple." Regina smirked. "I'm going to show the Dark Swan what dark magic really looks like." As Mary Margaret's face showed her concern for the statement that had just been made, Regina turned towards Sam, bending down to her eye level. "Sam, I need you to go around to the other side of the house? I don't know what's about to happen, so you just have to be very quiet. Stay outside the fence until I say so, okay?"

Sam nodded, her eyes shining. She turned and ran outside of the gate and around the corner, tucking herself within the branches of a tall rhododendron plant. She listened to the front door open, and Emma's boots clicking against the wooden steps. Sam could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she listened to Regina's exchange with the Dark One until she heard the sound of a metal object clanging against something very hard and suddenly saw why Regina had wanted to keep her outside of the fence. A golden substance surrounded the house, stopping only at the white picket fence that Sam stood behind.

Sam stood very still, being careful not to rustle any of the leaves of the bush she was hiding in. Finally, she heard the sound of Emma's boots as she ascended the stairs, and of the front door shutting, and Sam extracted herself from the plant. She ran around to the front of the house and saw David, Mary Margaret, and Regina frozen in place on the lawn. She tiptoed through the gate, holding her hair in her hands, and quietly stepped around to the back of the house. She jumped behind a corner as someone pulled open the back door and strode outside. Sam peered around a corner and saw a woman dressed in a black cape looking down at something with her back turned to Sam. She thought was Emma at first, but as the figure snickered to herself and turned back into the house, the face Sam saw did not matched the Dark One's. Sam hurried around to the side of the house and climbed up on top of a metal trashcan to peer through a tall window, gripping the white windowsill for support. Through a sheer white curtain, Sam could just see what was going on inside.

Zelena was pacing around Emma and Killian. Sam couldn't hear what she was saying but the nasty look on her face showed that it wasn't anything good.

Suddenly, Sam heard Emma cry "NO!" and she watched as Zelena withdrew a knife from behind her back and forcefully drove it into Killian's chest. Sam gasped and jolted back. Startled by her abrupt motion, the garbage can wobbled and then tipped over, spilling its contents and Sam herself onto the grass. Sam didn't wait to see if the inhabitants of the home had heard the noise. She ran around to the front of the house to see Mary Margaret, David, and Regina just pulling themselves out of their trance. When they saw the little girl in hysterics hurrying towards them, they immediately went to her.

"What's wrong? What did you see?" Mary Margaret asked.

"There-there was Emma and Zelena and Killian," Sam began, speaking very quickly, "an-and then Zelena stabbed Killian an-an-and he didn't get hurt and h-he was fine an-and I don't know why!"

Regina pulled Sam towards her in an attempt to console the little girl. She held Sam to her, rubbing her back with her hand. She looked up at Mary Margaret and David as she said, "What did Emma do?"

* * *

 **Review because it makes me happy!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know, I know! I'm incredibly late, but it was because I decided to spend extra long on this chapter because it an extra-important one, not because of intense procrastination. That would be absurd. Also, I combined 4x10 and 4x11 because neither of them would really have been long enough to be separate chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: I own Once Upon a Time. I am also a four hundred foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings.**

* * *

Hook and Zelena had long disappeared when Mary Margaret and Regina got to Emma, but not before they stole her memories and prevented her from using her magic to get them back. Emma now sat in a chair in her living room staring determinedly at a rug as Regina spoke.

"You turned Hook into a Dark One?" she asked angrily.

"It was the only way to save him." Emma replied, not looking away from the rug.

"And you didn't think of the consequences to everyone else?"

"I couldn't just let him die. You can understand that." Emma glanced at Regina, knowing that she couldn't help but agree with her.

"Well, yes, but," Regina hesitated, then sighed. "now we have a bigger problem."

"I know. I didn't think any of this would happen. I was trying to get rid of the darkness for good. You can't tell me, after all Zelena's done to you, your life wouldn't be easier if she were gone. I was doing you a favor."

"Come on. This is premeditated murder, Emma." Mary Margaret argued. "There had to be another way. You should have come to us."

"And risk losing someone else? I thought the best way to control the darkness was to isolate myself. But when I did that, there was no one around to give me hope or tell me when I was being stupid!"

"Fine. You're being stupid." Regina interrupted. Sam, who had been sitting in a chair in the corner of the room listening to the conversation, giggled quietly. "So stop it. Right now, we have to clean up this mess."

"No. We don't." Mary Margaret cut in. "Give us back our memories. Your dreamcatchers? Regina can access them, can't she? We can piece together Hook's plan and stop him."

"I'm afraid not." David said, entering the room. "Dreamcatchers you said were in the shed? They're gone."

"What the hell is Captain Dark One up to?"

They all looked around at each other, unsure of what else to say. Finally, Emma's eyes fell on Sam, who had said nothing, but sat silently in her chair.

"What about her?" she asked, nodding her head towards Sam.

"What about Sam?" Regina questioned suspiciously.

"She's important to Killian. We can use her to draw him out into the -"

"No." Mary Margaret said, before Emma's words had entirely left her mouth.

"If you think we are going to endanger a child's life then you really aren't the woman I thought you were, Miss Swan." Regina replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"We should at least ask her." Emma pointed to Sam, who's eyes widened as she realized that four pairs of eyes were focused solely on her.

"Uh." Sam stammered.

"Don't worry, Sam." Regina said. She turned back to Emma. "We're not using her as a ploy to get Killian."

"Sam." Mary Margaret said. "We need you to stay away from Killian, okay?"

"Why?"

"There's a lot going on right now, Sam," Regina said. "and we don't have the time to explain it to you. What you need to know is that Killian's not Killian right now. He's different and he can do bad things. You need to stay away from him."

"Will he hurt me?" Sam asked, staring at Regina with her big piercingly green eyes.

"I don't know." Regina replied.

* * *

It was soon decided that to keep Sam safe, she would stay with Regina, so when Regina decided to return to the hospital to check on Robin and his new daughter, Sam went with her.

"Wait here." Regina said, upon arriving in the waiting room. "I'll be back in a minute. Don't move."

Sam nodded and watched as Regina continued towards a tall set of doors. As soon as they shut behind her, Sam's world faded into clouds of red smoke. Sam shrieked and fell to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut.

"You're all right, love." a familiar voice said. She felt a pair of strong arms lift her up and place her gently onto her feet.

Sam slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was back in the psychiatric ward of the hospital; in the same cell that had been her home while Killian and the others were in Camelot. She looked up and saw Killian. Sam searched his face for the bad things that Regina and Emma had told her about before, but saw nothing but the same Killian who had tucked her into bed just a few hours ago.

"Why am I here?" she asked, looking around the cell.

"Don't worry, love." Killian said comfortingly, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to keep you safe."

"They told me you're bad now." Sam said.

"Who told you that, love." Killian replied, reaching out and tucking a loose tendril of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Mary Margaret and Regina and Emma." Sam felt tears spring into her eyes and blinked furiously to keep them away. "They told me you were bad now and I asked if you would do anything to me and they said they didn't know. You'd never hurt me, right? Right?"

Killian, at the sight of his little girl fighting away tears, stepped forward and lifted Sam into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and nestled her forehead into the crook of his neck. Finally, he answered, "Never in a million years would I do anything to hurt you. I promise."

Suddenly, the clicking sound of high heels against concrete rang through the air.

"Get away from her!" The voice came from the doorway. Killian felt Sam being pulled out of his arms and he turned and got just a glimpse of Regina holding Sam in her arms before they vanished, leaving nothing behind but black smoke.

Killian started after her and stopped, grimacing, before spinning in midair and disappearing in his own cloud of red.

* * *

Later that day, Sam was brought to the library, and while Belle, Mary Margaret, and David tried to figure out what Killian was doing, she sat in a big armchair and read a book.

Emma, tucked behind a bookshelf, watched the little girl, reminded of the first time she spoke to her. She was about to go up to her when Henry walked by and she was reminded of why she was at the library in the first place.

"Henry!" she called.

Sam looked up at the noise, and then, unfazed, looked back down at her book. She looked up again as Emma and Henry walked out of the library, and this time, her eyes rested on Mary Margaret, David, and Belle. Suddenly, Sam felt an intense frustration consume her body. She knew that they were trying to figure out how to defeat Killian. She knew that he was bad now, but she didn't know why.

Sam got up and crossed the library, coming to stand in front of David, Belle, and Mary Margaret.

"Sam." Mary Margaret said. "Is something wrong?"

"Why is Killian bad now?" Sam asked, crossing her arms stubbornly in front of her chest.

"Uh," Mary Margaret began, at a loss for words, "do you remember the bad things that are inside Emma?" Sam nodded. "Well, they're inside Killian too."

"When did they get there? Why? Who put them-"

"Sam!" Mary Margaret interrupted sharply. "None of us has any idea of what's going on right now. I'm sorry, but I don't have any more answers for you than that. We're all trying to figure out what to do, so the best thing for you is to just stay out of our way, okay?"

"Fine." Sam grumbled, not feeling any less frustrated than before as she stomped away.

* * *

A short while later, Killian stood by the duck pond, surrounded by all of the past Dark One's.

"Get anyone close to Emma Swan; anyone she loves," He told them. "Do whatever it takes. Just one thing. There is a little girl with bright green eyes and long blonde hair. Whatever you do, do not touch her."

"You of all people should know, Killian." Nimue stepped slightly in front of the other Dark One's. "No one tells a Dark One what to do."

* * *

The next few hours blurred together, and Sam went from the library to the mayors office in what felt like seconds and suddenly she was holding tightly onto Henry's hand and following the others down Main Street. She almost had to jog to keep up with their fast pace.

"Emma, slow down." David protested. "We need to talk about this. We need a plan."

"The plan is find Hook before he resurrects all of the Dark Ones. You think dealing with one is bad." Emma replied, not turning around.

"There's more than one Dark One?" Grumpy exclaimed, as he and five other dwarves joined the group walking down the street.

"It's a long story." David replied.

"Well, no matter. There's seven of us-" Grumpy began.

"Six," Sleepy interrupted, "Dopey's still a tree."

"We may be down a dwarf, but we're ready to fight." Grumpy finished.

"You won't have to. I'm going to take care of this." Emma replied.

"You think you can talk him out of this?" David asked doubtfully.

"There's no talking." Regina cut in. "We have to hit him with everything we've got."

"Well, it's not his fault." Mary Margaret reasoned. "He didn't want to become the Dark One."

"But he did because of me. None of that matters anymore." Emma replied.

Sam had been silently listening to the discussion and as she did, she felt the same bubbling frustration from earlier before. Nobody was telling her anything and now they were talking about defeating Killian. Why did they want to defeat Killian? Why was everybody expecting her to blindly accept everything they were telling her without asking any questions?

Sam stopped in her tracks and Henry was jolted into stillness along with her.

"Sam?" Henry questioned hurriedly. "What's wrong?"

The others around them stopped walking too, and suddenly everybody had turned to look at her. Sam hadn't thought this far into her plan. She looked nervously around at the faces all pointed at her.

"Sam." Regina repeated. "Is something wrong?"

"Why are you going after Killian?" Sam finally answered.

"We've already told you," Regina replied, "He's a Dark One now."

"Yeah, you told me that already, but that's it. _Why_ are you going after Killian?"

"Sam." Emma stepped forward, "I know how you must be feeling right now. Killian was a good man and he loved you very much, but that Killian is gone. He's been taken over by dark forces. They've changed who he is."

"Since when?" Sam replied stubbornly.

"Since we came back from Camelot."

"But he wasn't doing bad things until he found out he was a Dark One!" Sam protested.

"Have you ever heard of the phrase 'ignorance is bliss'?"

"Yes." Sam replied. Emma nodded once, but before she could say anything, Sam continued to speak. "But I don't care! All anybody's told me is that he wasn't bad before, but now he is. I knew that already. What's he gonna do? What's his big plan?"

"Killian is going to bring the other Dark Ones back. They're going to get rid of all the light in Storybrooke."

"Oh." Sam's voice was quiet and she looked down at the dark pavement that glittered in the moonlight. She wasn't ready for Emma's bluntness. Finally, she lifted her head, looking directly into Emma's eyes. "You have to kill him, don't you?"

She stared into Sam's big, unblinking eyes, finding that she couldn't answer her question. She turned away to face the others. "Regina is right. We need to hit him with everything."

"This is a man you loved." Mary Margaret protested.

"That man died back in Camelot. Now all there is is the Dark One. So, no matter how hard this might be, we need to split up, find him, and stop him, no matter what it takes."

* * *

Soon after, they all went in separate ways, each group trying to find Killian. Sam went with Emma and Henry and a few minutes later, they found themselves outside of Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop.

"Wait out here," Emma ordered. "I'll be right back."

Sam and Henry watched Emma enter the shop.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked Sam cautiously. "I mean, learning that Killian is going to destroy all the light in Storybrooke can't be easy."

Sam didn't answer. Instead her face turned white and she pointed nervously at a spot behind Henry, her voice catching in her throat and rendering her unable to speak. Henry turned to see a hooded figure walking towards him.

"Mom! Help me!" he yelled, glaring at the figure. Emma materialized in the doorway of the pawn shop, but she wasn't fast enough. The unrecognizable Dark One was mere feet away from Henry when Sam did the only thing that popped in her mind: she launched herself between Henry and the Dark One. The next thing she knew, she felt as if she'd plunged into a vat of icy water as the hooded figure stepped right through her, vanishing as it did so.

"Henry!" Emma ran forward, grabbing his shoulder. "Henry, are you okay?"

"I think so." Henry replied. He looked down at Sam, who wobbled slightly on her feet, "It was Sam. She got between us. Are you okay, Sam?"

Sam didn't answer, looking down at the ground and breathing heavily.

Emma glanced nervously between Sam and Henry as the same people who'd walked with her down Main Street returned.

"What just happened to us?" Regina asked angrily.

"I think I may have an answer to that." a new man said, walking up to them. "Check your wrists."

Everyone looked down at their arms, doing as Mr. Gold had told them to do. Emma grabbed Sam's wrist, pulling the little girl closer to her. She pushed away the sleeve of Sam's dress, seeing as she did so a gleaming mark emblazoned on her small wrist.

"That is the mark of Charon." Mr. Gold said.

"Charon?" Henry repeated, recognizing the name. "He's the ferryman in the old myths. He navigated a boat, _to the Underworld_."

Sam knew the name as well. The Greek myths had been a part of the many books she had read in the last few weeks, and although she had her suspicions that they may have been more than myth, she had no idea she'd be interacting with them so soon.

"Smart lad." Mr. Gold replied. "You see, the Dark One's only have temporary pass into this world like a - like a tourist visa. The only way for them to stay is to trade places with living souls."

"Meaning us." David finished.

"Exactly. And when the moon reaches its peak, the ferry from the Underworld will arrive and drag us down there."

Sam's breath got caught in her throat, and as she tried to swallow it down, she made a little gasping noise. Emma looked down at her nervously.

"That doesn't sound good." David replied.

"Speaking as one who's died and been there," Mr. Gold answered, "it's not."

"So how do we stop it?" Regina asked stubbornly, not ready to admit defeat yet.

"We can't. The Underworld is worse than you could possibly imagine. It's going to make you wish the old stories of fire and brimstone were true; it's going to make you wish for death, and then the realization will hit, that death has already come and this fresh torture is all that's left."

As Mr. Gold had been explaining their fate, Sam had found it had become more difficult to breathe. Sam took deep breaths to compensate, her chest rising and falling heavily. Her heart pounded so hard that she could hear it and it drowned out the last of his words. Emma instinctively put one hand on Sam's back and another on her shoulder.

"Gold, you're scaring her." Emma protested. Sam was surprised to not feel frightened by this Dark One's actions.

"Good, because you should all be scared! This is death itself. This is a fight we cannot win."

"No." Emma objected, not stepping away from Sam. "I'm not marked! I'm not going to give up. There has to be something we can do."

"You're right, there is something. Use this time wisely. Use it to say goodbye." Mr. Gold turned and walked away, not looking back.

They all stood, watching Mr. Gold's retreating back as they processed his words. They were all silent until Regina realized something.

"Henry!" she exclaimed. "How do you not have a mark?"

"It was Sam." Henry replied. Emma finally stepped away from Sam as Henry spoke. "There was a Dark One coming after me and she stepped between us."

"I'll bet you anything Killian didn't plan that." Regina replied, already formulating a plan in her mind.

"So?" Emma replied.

"We can use that to our advantage." Regina replied shiftily.

* * *

Several minutes later, Regina found herself held in a choke hold by a hand that was several inches away from her neck. Killian's face was close to hers.

"Don't test me again," Killian was saying, his voice a threatening growl, "You have no idea the man I truly am."

He released her and she bent over with her hands on her knees, gasping for air. As Killian began to walk away, Regina remembered why she had sought out the Dark One in the first place. She straightened, turning around to face Killian's retreating back.

"You should know." she began, "that Sam got marked."

Killian had whipped around and was mere feet away from Regina in an instant. "What?"

"The Dark One that was meant for Henry? Sam jumped between them. It marked her instead."

Regina opened her mouth to say more, but Killian had already spun into the air and disappeared.

* * *

"Nimue!" Killian yelled into the air. "Nimue!"

He didn't have to repeat her name a third time before Nimue appeared before him.

"Yes?" she said sweetly.

"I told you that Sam was to be untouched! I told you to leave her alone!" Killian roared.

"And I told you." Nimue replied, "That you can't tell a Dark One what to do."

* * *

Sam decided to spend her last minutes alive in her room in Granny's Inn. Without Killian, she was completely alone, and although Mary Margaret, David, and Henry were just downstairs in the diner, it wasn't quite the same. She sat by her window and watched the lights of Storybrooke - a town she'd just started to think of as home - twinkling in the night. She was wondering where Killian was and what he was doing. She was wondering if he knew what he had done to her.

Suddenly, she felt a searing pain as the Mark of Charon on her wrist glowed. Its light spread across her vision, consuming her world until Sam thought that this was the death Mr. Gold had warned her about. But the blindingly bright light faded away, and Sam wasn't in her bedroom anymore. She was at the duck pond, and Mary Margaret, David, Regina, Henry, Robin, and Mr. Gold were with her.

"Henry!" Regina instantly hurried over to her son. "Are you all right?"

"I-I-I think so." Henry replied, unsure as to why he'd been taken to the pond even though he hadn't been marked like the rest of them.

"Neal's back at the diner!" Mary Margaret exclaimed.

"Roland and the baby, where are they?" David said, grabbing Robin's arm.

"They're safe. They're with the fairies. They'll take Neal as well." Robin assured them. Suddenly, they all realized that they had been surrounded by hooded figures. They swiveled around, looking for an escape path but seeing none.

"So this is really it." Henry said quietly.

"I'm afraid it is, lad." Killian said, stepping through a gap between two Dark Ones. "Look. The S.S. Purgatory."

They all turned and saw heavy fog billowing over the duck pond.

"Mom!" Emma ran into the circle of Dark Ones and to her family, pulling them into her arms. "Dad! Henry! I'm sorry! I tried!"

"We know. It's okay." Mary Margaret consoled her daughter.

As Regina walked to Killian and began to speak to him, Sam watched the duck pond, seeing a silhouette beginning to take form from within the fog. She looked back towards the people around her. She watched Henry with his family, seeing how big it was and how many people cared about him. The one person who really felt like that about Sam was the same person who was sending her to the Underworld and knowing that made Sam feel very alone.

She realized that it had gone very silent. Regina had finished talking and Killian was looking stoically at a spot on the grass.

Her legs acting on their own accord, Sam stumbled forwards. Killian instantly looked to Sam and upon seeing her devastated expression, felt his heart collapse. Instantly, one of the Dark One's from the circle around them reached out their arm and held her back. Sam struggled from the magical grip the Dark One had on her. Killian watched Sam try to tear herself away and wanted so desperately to take her in his arms and bring her home and tuck her into the bed she should be in right now, but he couldn't. He couldn't help her. Finally, Sam became still and looked up at Killian with sad eyes.

Sam wanted to cry; to rid herself of the emotions within her, but the tears would not come. Then Sam did the thing Killian was hoping she wouldn't: she began to speak. "You said you wouldn't hurt me."

"I know I did."

"You promised." Sam said.

"I guess I'm not very good at keeping promises." Killian replied, unsure of what else to say.

"It's time." Nimue said, stepping towards Killian.

"No!" Emma ran forwards, "You're not taking the people I love."

Nimue reached out her own arm and suddenly Emma started to gag. "I might not be able to kill you but I can stop you from interfering."

Killian looked back and forth between Emma who was reaching for her throat, looking desperately at Killian as she gasped for air, and Sam who had once again began to struggle against the magical restraints holding her back. As Killian watched his two loves hurting as a result of what he'd done, he began to feel something he hadn't expected to feel: remorse.

"That's enough!" Killian exclaimed, turning to face Nimue.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Being the man I want to be."

"You can't stop us." Nimue said, lowering her arm slightly.

"Yes." Killian said, unsheathing Excalibur. "I can."

Killian held up the sword and as he did so, it glowed red. Nimue and the other Dark Ones were all jolted towards Killian as their darkness was pulled out of them and into Excalibur. Emma and Sam were both released as all of the Dark Ones faded away, leaving nothing but white clouds that soon disappeared themselves. Killian stood holding Excalibur in shaking hands as the red faded away.

"Killian, you can't do this." Emma protested, tears staining her cheeks.

"We both know there's no other way, love." Killian replied, speaking very quickly. "We have to hurry. The darkness won't stay trapped in Excalibur much longer. Take it."

"No!" Emma gasped.

"You have to help me, Swan! Take it."

"I can't!" Emma stammered. "It should be me."

"Your family needs you. If anyone deserves to go to the Underworld, it's me. You were right. I was weak. So let me make it up to you by being strong."

"I don't want to lose you." Emma said, her voice shaking.

"And I don't want to lose you." Killian repeated Emma's words, "But you have to let me go. Let me die a hero! That's the man I want you to remember, please!"

Emma stepped forward, closing her hands around Killian's and taking the shaking hilt of Excalibur from him. She took a few steps back and gestured for Killian to go to Sam.

Killian's head snapped towards the little girl, as if he'd almost forgotten she was there. He thought she looked very small standing next to the others. Mary Margaret and David were holding each other, as were Regina, Robin, and Henry, but Sam was all alone. The person who should have been comforting her was Killian. He noticed Sam's legs shaking and felt his heart break once again. He stepped towards the little girl, catching the her under her arms just as her knees gave out. He knelt down on the ground, placing Sam on her feet as he did so.

"I'm so sorry, Sam." he said, his hands gripping her shoulders. "I never wanted any of this for you. I wanted you to have a good life. I wanted to always be there for you." Sam didn't say anything. She just looked sadly into his eyes. "I need you to stay brave, okay my love? Be my strong little girl." Killian said.

"I will. I promise." Sam nodded. Then, a single tear broke past the barrier that had held it in before. The rest followed soon after and suddenly Sam was crying. The sound that came with it was rasping and came from deep inside of her and was one that Killian could not bear to hear.

Killian pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her body and combing his fingers through her hair. Sam locked her arms around Killian's neck and buried her forehead into the crook of his neck.

"I love you so much." Killian said, trying not to cry himself.

"I love you too." Sam gasped through deep rattling breaths that were not unlike someone drowning.

They stayed like that for a few moments until Killian realized that he was not done yet. He went to stand up but Sam made no move to detach herself from him.

"Sam!" Killian said desperately, his voice cracking. He knew that if she didn't let go he would never be able to bring himself to do what he was going to do. Finally, Robin hurried forwards and pulled Sam away from Killian.

"NO!" Sam shrieked as Robin carried her back away from Killian and Emma. The word was long and drawn-out and its noise pierced the air. "NO!"

Killian turned back to Emma, saying as he did so, "Take care of her for me. Please!"

Emma nodded quickly, blinking furiously to rid herself of the tears that were blurring her vision. Killian stepped back so he was right in front of Emma. Emma rested her hand on the back of his neck.

"I love you." she whispered before pulling him even closer and kissing him, her hand traveling down to his collar.

"I love you too." The words were jumbled together as Killian pulled away.

They both stepped away from each other. Emma readied the sword.

"It's okay." Killian breathed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sam trying to kick away from Robin as he held her higher against his side. She reached for Killian, trying to twist herself out of Robin's grip as she continued to scream. Killian looked instead at Emma who's entire body was shaking. He tried to look unafraid, knowing that the two people he loved most were watching him, so he clenched his jaw and watched the sword in Emma's hands.

Finally, after what seemed like days, Emma drew back her arm, and when she released it, she drove Excalibur through Killian's chest. Only when Killian cried out in pain did Sam go silent, becoming so limp that Robin almost dropped her.

Suddenly, there was a bright beam of light coming from the spot where Emma and Killian stood. Sam squeezed her eyes shut, the light contrasting the darkness of the night so much that it hurt. When she opened them, she saw Killian lying on his back on the grass with Emma by his side. To Sam, she now looked more like the woman Killian had described to her than the Dark One ever had.

They all stayed like that for a while, frozen either in shock or in awe of what had taken place. Robin did not put Sam down until he realized that two men with a gurney had arrived. Nobody remembered who called them. When the men arrived, Robin gently placed Sam on the ground where she instantly crumbled to her knees. She dragged herself to the spot where Killian's body was, stopping about a foot away from him. She looked warily at Killian, not ready to believe that he was dead, but also not looking for a confirmation.

Then the men were lifting Killian onto the gurney and covering his body with a grey blanket, and Emma was wailing into her mother's coat, and Sam was sitting alone on the grass and watching Killian's body being wheeled away from her.

* * *

After Emma announced her plan to save Killian, everybody broke off on their own to comprehend the task they were about to undertake. Emma began to pace up and down her parents' loft, thinking about her plan and finding several gaping holes within it, but not really caring. She stopped walking when she heard a quiet shuffling sound coming from under the kitchen table. She crouched down and saw Sam beneath the wooden surface. She held her blonde curls around her like a blanket and her knees drawn up to her chest. She sat on the floor frozen, staring blindly into space, not even acknowledging Emma's presence.

"Hey, kid." Emma said, finding herself automatically using the same pet name for Sam that she had for Henry, "Mind if I join you?"

Sam didn't answer, and Emma found that permission enough to slide underneath the table. She leaned up against one of the wooden legs with her knees pulled up like Sam's. Her head brushed up against the underside of table, but she didn't really notice.

"I'm sorry." Emma said quietly. "I got you involved in something that had nothing to do with you, and you got hurt because of it. It was wrong and I'm sorry."

Sam didn't argue with her. Neither of them spoke for a while. They both sat underneath the table in complete stillness until Sam turned her head towards Emma.

"You killed him." Sam said. Emma searched her face for any emotion: anger, fear, resentment, but saw nothing. "He asked you to kill him and you did it."

"You're not mad at me?"

"I don't think so." Sam replied. "Killian always told me that there were bad things in you, and he wanted them out so much. He wouldn't want them inside himself either, but he more didn't want them in you. That's why he did it. So the bad things wouldn't be in you anymore."

There was another long silence, interrupted only by the hushed whispers of the others around them.

"Sam," Emma finally said, "do you remember when I first met you? In the library?" Sam nodded. "I asked you about your hair."

"I remember." Sam said.

"I wanted to talk to you because I know that the magic in your hair is dark - or _was_ dark."

"It was dark magic." Sam answered. "You have your magic because of your parents true love. You're magic is _light_ because your parents are good people. My parents had true love too, but they were bad. They did bad things to people. My magic was dark because of them."

"But it isn't anymore. It's light now."

"I didn't want my magic to be dark anymore, so I changed it." Sam nodded. "Is that why you wanted to talk to me that day? To get my magic?"

"Not exactly. I didn't want to do all the things I did. I didn't want to hurt all of you. I was hoping you could tell me how you changed your magic because I wanted to try to change mine. I wanted to get rid of the darkness without causing any more damage than I already had."

"Oh." Sam replied. She didn't say anything else. She didn't have to. She just tipped her head back and rested it on the table leg, pulling her knees closer to her chest.

"We're going to find him, you know." Emma said. "We're going to save Killian."

"I know we will."

* * *

 **And with that, I conclude this series. No. I'm kidding. I am, however, going on a brief hiatus because without any new episodes, I don't really have anything to work with. You guys probably could have figured that out, but whatever.**


	7. Author's Note

p style="margin: 0px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"Hey guys! I know I said I'd be back when the hiatus ended, but not knowing what's going to happen the rest of this season is making it really difficult to write this story, which, as you know, depends on the events of the show. Because of this, I've ultimately made the decision to stop writing until season 5 ends. I hope this doesn't bother any of you and I promise I'll be back in a few months. Until then, happy reading!/p 


End file.
